Having completed her medical education at Geneva College in west central New York in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) is widely considered to be the first American woman to receive an academic medical degree. Her papers, part of
the larger Blackwell Family collection (29,000 items; 1759-1960; bulk 1845-90) [catalog record], describe her pioneering efforts to open the medical profession to women, including her difficulties in establishing in
1854 the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister Dr. Emily Blackwell (1826-1910) and their colleague Dr. Marie Zakrzewska and her struggle fifteen years later to found a women's medical college
in the United States. Elizabeth and Emily wrote numerous pieces on women's health concerns, but they also lived up to the
family's reputation for producing reformers and strong supporters of women's political rights.